Well, dear friends. It’s time to take a slow, calm exhale, because all deadlines are closed or forgotten, which is essentially the same thing. The Christmas tree is decorated and lit with at least a thousand lights, and the only worries left are not to fall into an alcoholic coma ahead of time and competently chop the salad ingredients. And the most festive album of the year will be a suitable soundtrack for these activities: The Gift of Giving from the German band The Rockhouse Brothers.
I have said many times that the genre of the Christmas album is a small minefield: one wrong step and the banality will tear you to pieces! And if my examples from previous years went around, following the psychotic path, today’s guests did it completely differently. As experienced sappers, The Rockhouse Brothers went straight ahead, playing traditional Christmas jazz and rockabilly, and their skill made the explosive track completely safe.
But who are these crazy brothers? Well, first of all, they are really siblings. Not all of them, just two. Joey and Jamie Carnwath were born in the USA and grew up in Britain, but only the German land gave them a real start. After all, they met drummer Wolf Reinhet, nicknamed The Wolffman, in the Teutonic shadows. This meeting took place in 2000, and a year later the band we have the pleasure of listening today was created.
Curiously, this is the second time in my memory that a nationally diverse team has been based in Germany. The phenomenon will definitely be investigated in the near future, especially since the topic of the contradictory friendship of Americans and Russians in the very center of Europe has been very relevant in the last few months.
But back to The Rockhouse Brothers. Several records were recorded in this unchanged line-up, the most recent of which dates back to 2010. Yes, this is another bill formation, the years of activity of which fell in the tenth years of the twenty-first century. It was a wonderful era, perhaps. And so, after a decade of silence, the brothers returned with a Christmas present.
It’s time to unpack it! The most important thing I want to say about this record is that it sounds classically fresh. Yes, this is exactly the case when it was enough to do everything properly, without unnecessary newfangled bells and whistles and without going into obscurity, like recording on a single microphone located in the stratosphere.
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town immediately sets the festive tone for everything that is happening. The excellent work of the rhythm section with a dense double bass and surprisingly pleasant brushes is flavored with very polite guitar passages. To complete this splendor, doo-wop backup songs and wonderful tambourines at the end of the track.
Sleigh Ride has a very impressive, but at the same time completely non-intrusive introduction that does not knock down the main mood. My favorite candy in this sweet gift is the gentle claps on the guitar solo.
Run Rudolph Run puts everything on a traditional rock and roll track, while not impoverishing the overall sound. I am absolutely captivated by Wolf’s work on cymbals. This is probably the most beautiful ride cymbal in many years.
Blue Christmas reveals the third facet of this trio’s talents: traditional Christmas country ballads. Relaxing country music, just like any other.
X-Miss Right is probably the most groovy song on the record. Well, what other song could there be about rushing home on New Year’s holidays? Personally, I am once again fascinated by the most delicate guitar solo and its rhythmic accompaniment.
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! performed by the brothers, it gives the same feeling of snow crunching underfoot.
It is also continued by the fiercely inflated White Christmas. Jingle Bell Rock is performed as classically as possible here, but Wolf’s accents on the snare drum and the ubiquitous backing vocals refresh this song very much. I would call the climax the vocal battle in the second verse, where it is unclear which vocals are the front and which are the back. That’s the case when it’s better to sing together.
Last Christmas. Oh… anything was done with this song! However, the brothers managed to squeeze out something fresh. It’s all the fault of the same doo-wap and the straight reference guitar ostinato on the background.
Winter Wonderland stands out the least from everything else, but it’s still a beautifully performed wonderful song.
Next Christmas Time is just as reassuringly charming. I would even call it a passer, but it’s probably a matter of the cantonal arrangement. They don’t have to be intrusive. Well, the theme of mental healing for the holidays is quite relevant.
Rockin’ Around The Xmas Tree is also very standard. In general, the album’s finale feels like a cake on a New Year’s table: great, of course, but why now? However, it will not be superfluous.
The album ends with the most tender lullaby Have Yourself A Merry Little Xmas.
This laconic record ends with this damn dozen, and it looks like we have a new Christmas classics that will perfectly match the entire New Year holidays. By getting as close to the benchmark as possible, which was not the same benchmark, The Rockhouse Brothers showed what it means to give gifts. And this gift is the sweetest of all.
Well, I want to wish you and me a happy new year. And remember: the new fifties are getting closer!
